WO2005024111A1

WO2005024111A1 - Method and equipment for manufacturing reinforced fiber textile

Info

Publication number: WO2005024111A1
Application number: PCT/JP2003/011343
Authority: WO
Inventors: Kiyoshi Homma; Akira Nishimura; Ikuo Horibe; Eisuke Wadahara
Original assignee: Toray Industries, Inc.
Priority date: 2003-09-05
Filing date: 2003-09-05
Publication date: 2005-03-17
Also published as: EP1662033B1; EP1662033A4; US7779870B2; ATE488631T1; CN1826444A; EP1662033A1; CN100543218C; AU2003261953B2; DE60335041D1; US20070023099A1; AU2003261953A1

Abstract

A method and equipment for manufacturing reinforced textile (1) formed by weaving reinforced fibers at least as the warp (2), the method characterized by comprising the steps of reciprocatingly moving cylindrical bodies (4) in the direction of the warp (2) of the textile while rolling on the textile (1) in a pressed state against the textile (1) to increase the width of at least the warp (2) forming the textile in the direction of the weft (3); the equipment comprising guide rollers (5) rotating in surface-contact with the textile (1) continuously passed therethrough, the plurality of cylindrical bodies (4) rotatably supported on the textile in surface-contact with the guide rollers, and drive parts (6 to 10) reciprocatingly moving the cylindrical bodies in the direction of the warp (2) of the textile.

Description

Description Manufacturing method and manufacturing apparatus for strong fiber woven fabric

The present invention relates to a method for producing a reinforcing fiber woven fabric and an improvement in an apparatus for producing the same. More specifically, the present invention relates to a method for producing a reinforcing fiber woven fabric in which a fiber width is increased in producing a reinforcing fiber woven fabric useful as a base material for a fibrous plastic, and to an improvement in a manufacturing apparatus therefor. Background art

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as an intermediate base material for producing fiber reinforced plastic, a woven form has been widely used. The reinforcing woven yarn is used as the warp yarn and the weft yarn in order to minimize the crimp caused by the crossing of the warp yarn and the weft yarn and to exhibit high strength. In particular, when the reinforcing fibers are carbon fiber yarns, thin yarns have become expensive reinforcing fabrics due to low productivity of the yarns and fabrics, and have been mainly used for aircraft applications, which have a large weight-reducing effect.

However, due to the recent slump in the aircraft industry, the cost of materials has been strongly reduced, and the emergence of inexpensive carbon fiber fabrics is desired.

Under such circumstances, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 6-136632 proposes a carbon fiber flat yarn woven fabric in which thick carbon fiber yarns are interwoven in a flat shape. This woven fabric is woven at a large weaving pitch using carbon fiber yarns of large fineness, which are inexpensive to manufacture, so that the woven fabric has high productivity and can be provided at low cost. Since the crimp at the crossing point is small, it has the characteristic of exhibiting high strength. However, carbon fiber yarns are formed by bundling a large number of multifilaments made of carbon fiber with a slight sizing agent so that the cross section of the yarn bundle becomes flat. The cross-section of the bundle is crushed and turned into a thin yarn, resulting in a woven fabric with gaps between the yarns. Therefore, if such a woven fabric is used to form a fiber-reinforced composite material molded product (hereinafter referred to as a molded product), the resin becomes unevenly distributed between the yarns, and the carbon fiber content is high. There is a problem that a molded article is not formed, and a portion where the resin is unevenly distributed when a stress is applied to the molded article becomes a starting point of rupture and high mechanical properties are not exhibited. In addition, a molded article in which the resin is unevenly distributed has a problem that the resin is unevenly distributed due to curing shrinkage of the resin, so that the portion in which the resin is unevenly shrinks largely, so that the molded article has an uneven surface.

By the way, the following can be cited as factors that cause a gap between the yarns.

(1) Due to the fluctuation of the yarn width of the carbon fiber flat yarn, a gap is created around the narrow yarn with a narrow yarn width.

(2) When unwinding the pobin on which the carbon fiber yarn is wound, false twist is woven due to the winding habit, and the twisted portion becomes a fine yarn and a gap is generated between the yarns.

(3) The position of the pig iron that opens the warp is shifted from the position of the pig iron, and the width of the warp is reduced, resulting in a gap between the yarns.

(4) When the weft yarn is strung, a gap is generated between the weft yarns because the width of the weft yarn becomes narrow.

Conventionally, in order to solve such a problem, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2-307965 discloses that after forming a woven fabric, a large number of spherical bodies are rotated and moved under pressure to open the woven fabric. Correction methods have been proposed.

According to this straightening method, in a woven fabric in which a fine carbon fiber yarn having a number of filaments of about 3.00 is woven with a small yarn pitch, the yarn bundle of the yarn is cut. Since the surface is converged in a substantially circular shape, the yarn width is expanded by pressing the weaving yarn with the convex portion of the spherical body, which has an effect of correcting the aperture.

However, in a woven fabric having a large yarn pitch, such as a flat yarn woven fabric made of the carbon fiber, when the convex portion (the center of the sphere) of the spherical body is located between the flat woven yarn and the woven yarn. At this time, the convex portion of the spherical body rolls along the space between the yarns, so that the action of increasing the gap between the yarns works, and the yarn width is rather narrowed. In addition, since the spherical body does not rotate lightly due to friction with the positioning mesh, the flat yarn woven fabric, which has a weak binding force between the warp and the weft and is easily misaligned, has a misalignment caused by the movement of the spherical body. There are problems that can easily occur.

For this reason, the above-mentioned prior art has a drawback. In the case where a flat yarn woven fabric made of carbon fiber, which has a large woven yarn pitch and is very easily misaligned, is used as a reinforcing fiber, the method for producing the same is difficult. There has been a demand for an improved manufacturing method and manufacturing apparatus.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to solve the conventional problems described above, and to manufacture a reinforcing fiber woven fabric using a flat yarn as a woven yarn, by adding an effective yarn width widening method during the manufacturing process. An object of the present invention is to provide a method for producing a reinforcing fiber woven fabric in which reinforcing fibers are uniformly dispersed without any gaps between them and an apparatus for producing the same. Disclosure of the invention

In order to achieve the above object, a method for producing a reinforcing fiber woven fabric of the present invention is as follows.

In a method for producing a compensating woven fabric in which reinforcing fibers are woven at least as warp yarns, the cylindrical body is reciprocated in the warp yarn direction of the woven fabric while rolling the cylindrical body on the woven fabric under pressure. Characterized in that the yarn width of at least the warp yarn constituting the woven fabric is increased in the weft direction. This is a method for producing textiles.

In this method for producing a reinforcing fiber woven fabric, the pressure applied to the woven fabric of the cylindrical body is preferably in the range of 100 to 200 g per 1 cm of the axial length of the cylindrical body.

In the method for producing a reinforcing fiber woven fabric, the width of the warp is preferably widened in the weft direction in a range of 2 to 50%.

In this method for producing a captive fiber woven fabric, the woven fabric has a thick non-twisted reinforcing fiber yarn having a fineness in a range of 400 to 4000 TEX at a woven yarn pitch in a range of 5 to 32 mm. It is preferable to use a woven fabric in which the relationship between the fineness of the reinforcing fiber yarn and the pitch of the woven yarn has the following relationship.

P = k .T ^1/2

However, P: Weft pitch (mm)

T: Fineness of captive fiber (T E X)

k: (18 to 50) X 10 ¹²

In the method for producing a reinforcing fiber woven fabric, the woven fabric may be a warp yarn having a fineness in a range of 400 to 4000 TEX and a thick non-twisted reinforcing fiber yarn in a range of 4 to 16 mm. A unidirectional woven fabric that is integrated with a weft yarn of a thin scavenging yarn having a fineness of 1 to 30 TEX, and the relationship between the fineness of the reinforcing fiber yarn and the woven yarn pitch is as follows. It is preferable to use a certain fabric.

P = kT ^1/2

However, P weft (warp) pitch (mm)

T Reinforcement fiber fineness (T E X)

k (1 0~ 2 8) X 1 0 one ²

In the method for manufacturing a strong fiber woven fabric, the strong fibers are preferably carbon fibers. In the method for producing a reinforcing fiber woven fabric, the number of filaments of the carbon fiber is preferably in the range of 6,000 to 500,000.

In this method of manufacturing a reinforcing fiber woven fabric, it is preferable that the cylindrical body is arranged in a plurality in a staggered manner in the warp direction to increase the yarn width of the woven fabric. In this method for producing a reinforcing fiber woven fabric, the woven fabric is moved in the warp direction along the surface of the rotatable guide roller, and the yarn width is continuously increased on the woven fabric in surface contact with the guide roller. Is preferred.

In this method of manufacturing a reinforcing fiber woven fabric, it is preferable to widen the yarn width between the weaving machine and the take-up roll of the woven fabric.

In this method for producing a reinforcing fiber woven fabric, the average speed at which the cylindrical body is reciprocated is preferably in the range of 50 to 30 Omm / sec.

In this method of manufacturing a reinforcing fiber woven fabric, the woven fabric is a flat yarn woven fabric having a flat structure in which a warp and a weft are made of carbon fiber yarn, and the weft is injected by jet jet from injection holes arranged in the weft direction of the woven fabric. It is preferable to perform a spreading process and a widening process, and then widen the yarn width in the weft direction by any of the methods described above.

In the method for producing a strong fiber woven fabric, the weaving step of weaving the woven fabric while inserting the low-melting resin fiber in the warp or weft direction; the yarn width widening step according to any of the above; It is preferable to include a step of heating the softening point of the low melting point resin fiber or a temperature higher than the melting point to fix the reinforcing fibers to each other or the reinforcing fiber and the auxiliary yarn with the low melting point resin.

In this method for producing a reinforcing fiber woven fabric, the method for producing a reinforcing fiber woven fabric according to any of the above-described methods (of course, the production method includes a widening step) is further provided on one side or both sides of the reinforcing fiber woven fabric. A step of applying and adhering a powdery or fiber-like resin to the woven fabric, wherein the amount of the resin adhering is preferably in the range of 2 to 20% by weight of the fabric. Next, in order to achieve the above object, an apparatus for producing a reinforcing fiber woven fabric of the present invention is as follows.

A guide roller that rotates while being in surface contact with a continuously passing reinforcing fabric at a predetermined winding angle; a plurality of cylindrical bodies rotatably supported on the fabric in contact with the surface; And a drive unit for reciprocating the body in the warp direction of the woven fabric.

In this apparatus for manufacturing a reinforcing fiber woven fabric, the cylindrical body has a diameter of

It is preferable that the cylindrical body is in the range of 10 to 40 mm and the length thereof is in the range of 10 to 50 mm, and the cylindrical bodies are arranged in a staggered manner in the warp direction of the woven fabric. Brief Description of Drawings

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view for explaining the production method of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a partial cross-sectional view for explaining the principle of the manufacturing method of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of one embodiment in which the production method of the present invention is continuously performed on a loom.

FIG. 4 is a plan view illustrating a method for arranging cylindrical bodies according to the present invention. FIG. 5 is a partial cross-sectional view for explaining one embodiment of the manufacturing apparatus of the present invention.

Description of reference numerals in the drawings

1: Fabric

2: Warp yarn

3: weft

4: Cylindrical body

5 Guide rollers 6: Cylindrical body support arm

: Reciprocating connecting rod

8: Pressing member

9: Guide

10: Compression panel Best mode for carrying out the invention

Hereinafter, the best mode of the present invention will be described with reference to examples and comparative examples of the present invention and the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view for explaining a method for producing a reinforcing fiber woven fabric using a yarn width widening method which is a feature of the production method of the present invention.

In the figure, reference numeral 1 denotes a woven fabric used as a reinforcing woven fabric in a fiber-reinforced plastic, which is a so-called two-way woven fabric in which warp yarns 2 and weft yarns 3 of reinforcing yarns are woven by being crossed with each other. Since the weaving method of the two-way fabric 1 itself can be woven using a well-known, for example, Levia weaving machine, the description up to the weaving step here is omitted.

Reference numeral 4 denotes a dumbbell-shaped cylindrical body for widening the woven fabric 1 in the weft 3 direction (the direction of arrow A in the figure). In the present embodiment, a plurality of yarns are arranged in parallel with each other so that their rotation axes are aligned with the weft direction of the fabric, and are pressed in the direction of the warp yarn 2 from above the fabric 1 with an appropriate pressing force applied to the fabric 1. The width is increased by reciprocating (direction of arrow B). By this widening step, the width of each woven yarn is widened, and a uniform woven fabric having no gap between the woven yarns can be obtained.

In this case, as a method of pressing the woven fabric 1 of the cylindrical body 4, for example, the pressing can be performed by a spring-air cylinder. As the pressing force, it is preferable that the pressure is as high as possible because the widening effect is large, but if it is too high, there is a problem that fluff is generated, especially when the reinforcing fiber is carbon fiber. It is preferable that a load of 100 to 2000 g per 1 cm of the length of the cylindrical body is applied vertically to the surface of the fabric.

As for the speed at which the cylindrical body 4 is reciprocated, the higher the speed, the more the same part of the fabric can be passed, so that a high width-expanding effect can be obtained, but the reciprocating movement of the cylindrical body is mechanical. There is a limit, and the reciprocating speed (product of amplitude (mm) and frequency (times / second)) is preferably in the range of 50 to 300 mm / second. In order to reciprocate the same part of the fabric as much as possible within such a speed range, arranging multiple rows of cylindrical bodies is the same as moving the same part of the fabric several times with one reciprocation. High effect can be obtained with low frequency. The widening effect can be obtained even if the amplitude is reduced and the frequency is increased as the widening condition.However, since the widening effect needs to be widened within a very short distance, it is sufficient. It cannot be widened.

On the other hand, when the amplitude is increased, the yarn is expanded sequentially over a long distance, so that the width can be uniformly and largely expanded. The preferred range of the amplitude is about 10 to 10 Omm, more preferably about 20 to 50 mm.

Fig. 1 shows the case where the woven fabric is in a stationary state. In this case, the cylindrical body 4 is sequentially moved in the direction of the arrow C while reciprocating in the direction of the arrow B, and the yarn width is increased at a certain fabric interval. When the operation is completed, the fabric can be intermittently moved by an appropriate means. In this case, the cylindrical body 4 itself may be moved forward and backward while rolling, or may be moved in one direction without reciprocating, but moving the same portion of the fabric a plurality of times may result in a larger width. It is preferable to move while reciprocating since the effect can be obtained.

FIG. 2 is a partial cross-sectional view for explaining the principle of widening the yarn in the width direction, and shows a cut surface of the weft 3 of the woven fabric 1 in contact with the cylindrical body 4 in the direction of 3. is there. As shown in Fig. 2 (a), the narrow width W1 of the warp yarn 2 means that the cross-section of the reinforcing fiber bundle has an elliptical shape close to a circle, and rises in the thickness direction of the woven fabric. When the raised portion is pressed perpendicularly to the fabric surface in the direction of the arrow by the cylindrical body 4, the reinforcing fiber bundle of the warp yarn 2 is pushed out in the weft 3 direction, and the weft 2 yarn is drawn as shown in Fig. 2 (mouth). The width is widened to W2. If the cylindrical body 4 is rolled in the direction of the warp 2 in such a state, the width of the warp 2 can be increased in the direction of the weft 3. However, in the case where the warp yarn 2 and the weft yarn 3 are both reinforcing fibers and each has a woven structure in which the yarns are crossed with each other, since the crossing increases the width of the yarns, they become resistance to each other. It is difficult to increase the yarn width only by moving the yarns until the gap between the yarns is completely eliminated. Therefore, it is preferable to sequentially increase the yarn width by passing the same portion several times in the cylindrical body 4 to sequentially widen the yarn width. For this purpose, it is preferable to reciprocate the cylindrical body 4 in the warp yarn direction.

According to the above principle, it is possible to sufficiently widen the yarn width of various reinforcing fiber woven fabrics.For example, in the case of a normal woven fabric in which the woven yarns 2 and 3 are woven at high density and the woven yarns are strongly interlaced with each other In addition, the binding force of the warp and the weft is strong, and the fibers in the weft are difficult to move.

Therefore, in the production method of the present invention, the yarn pitch is as large as 5 to 32 mm, even though it is a thick non-twisted captive fiber yarn having a fineness of 400 to 4000 TEX. This is effective when producing a flat yarn woven fabric, which is a low-weight woven fabric of 80 to 300 g / m ² woven with a woven fabric. That is, the low-weight woven fabric made of such thick reinforcing fiber yarns has a problem that the woven yarns are liable to be bundled during weaving and are likely to become fine yarns, and a gap is generated between the woven yarns. According to the method, the generation of such a gap is suppressed, and a woven fabric having no gap between the yarns can be manufactured.

Reinforcing fiber yarns used in the method for producing a reinforcing fiber woven fabric of the present invention include: Carbon fibers, glass fibers, aramide fibers, high-strength synthetic fibers, and the like can be used, and among them, carbon fibers having high specific strength and specific elastic modulus are preferable. When manufacturing a flat yarn fabric using a flat yarn made of a thick carbon fiber yarn as the form of the reinforcing fiber, weaving is performed while maintaining the flat state of the carbon fiber flat yarn whose shape is maintained in a flat shape such as sizing. However, since the flat yarn is kept in shape with a slight sizing agent, the flat state is crushed due to the following factors in the weaving process, and the yarn width is almost the same as the woven yarn pitch. The fabric cannot be held and made into a woven fabric, and the yarn becomes thinner, and in any case, the woven fabric has a gap between the yarns.

In the production method of the present invention, since the woven yarn is expanded while being rolled under pressure in the cylindrical body 4, the yarn width can be increased even when the sizing agent is attached to the carbon fiber yarn and the fibers are fixed to each other. It has features that can be. In the present invention, the sizing agent is effective for widening the yarn width of a reinforcing woven fabric composed of carbon fiber yarns to which 0.5 to 2.0% is attached.

Fortunately, in the woven fabric using the carbon fiber flat yarn as the compensating fiber, the binding force of the warp yarn 2 and the weft yarn 3 is very weak, and there is almost no resistance that inhibits the spreadability due to the crossing. As a result, it can be easily spread in the plane direction of the fabric.

The flat yarn woven fabric 1 made of the carbon fiber has a warp yarn 2 having a fineness of at least 400 to 4,000 TEX and a filament number of 6,000 to 500,000 thick yarns. It is preferable that the woven carbon fiber yarn is a woven fabric in which large woven yarn pitches of 5 to 32 mm are arranged. The woven yarn pitch relates to the fineness of the carbon fiber yarn used, and is preferably a carbon fiber flat yarn woven fabric having the following relationship.

P = kT ^1/2

Where P: Yarn pitch (mm) T: Fineness of reinforcing fiber (Τ Ε X)

k: (18 to 50) X 10 ¹²

In other words, the above formula indicates that the woven yarn pitch should be relatively small when using carbon fiber yarns with small fineness, and that the woven yarn pitch should be large when using carbon fiber yarns with high fineness. Is shown. For the flat yarn woven fabric to which the above formula is applied, the range of the constant k is important, and when it is less than 18 × 10, the weave yarn pitch becomes small and it approaches a normal carbon fiber woven fabric. Since the gap between the yarns is small, it is not necessary to increase the width of the yarn.

"You, the constant k is greater than 5 0 X 1 0- ^2, be a very loose textile binding of yarns with little, the direction of the warp yarns for reciprocating the cylindrical body of the present invention wind-up Since the tension is applied, the yarn width can be increased without disturbing the arrangement.However, the weft yarn is not tensioned, and the arrangement is very easily disturbed. There is a problem of meandering the thread.

In the woven fabric 1, thick non-twisted reinforcing fibers having a fineness of 400 to 4000 TEX are arranged in the warp yarn 2 direction in a woven yarn pitch of 4 to 16 mm, and the fineness is 1 to 30 A unidirectional woven fabric integrated with weft yarn 3 consisting of a thin auxiliary yarn of TEX, which may be a unidirectional reinforced woven fabric in which the relationship between the fineness of the reinforcing fiber yarn and the weft yarn pitch is as follows. preferable.

P = k .T ^1/2

Where P: Yarn pitch (mm)

T: fineness of Totsuyo fiber (TEX) k: (1 0~ 2 8) X 1 0 one ²

The weft consisting of the auxiliary yarn in the unidirectional fabric is the warp yarn of the reinforcing fiber yarn. The main purpose is to integrate the warp yarns that are arranged in an interlaced manner, and the weft yarn, which is an auxiliary yarn, is a fine fiber yarn in order to minimize the crimp of the force-absorbing fiber yarn due to the interlacing. It is preferable that

If the weft is thinner than 1 TEX, there is a problem that the strength is insufficient to integrate the warp of the reinforcing fiber, and the weft is cut off with a slight external force. The purpose of integration cannot be achieved.

On the other hand, when the fineness of the weft yarn exceeds 30 TEX, the warp yarn of the reinforcing fiber yarn is crimped due to the crossing, and the weft yarn appears in a convex shape on the surface of the reinforcing fabric, and the unevenness of the surface becomes large. A more preferable range of the weft fineness is 1 to 10 TEX. Further, the relationship between the fineness of the reinforcing fibers and the pitch when limited to the unidirectional woven fabric is basically the same as described above, but the weft of the unidirectional woven fabric in the present invention has a very fine fineness. In order to reduce the binding force at the intersection of the warp and the weft, the constant k is preferably in the range of 0.01 to 0.28, which is a smaller value than the case described above.

As described above, particularly in the production of a carbon fiber flat yarn woven fabric having a relationship between the fineness of the carbon fiber yarn and the woven yarn pitch, the reinforcing fiber using the yarn width expanding method which is a feature of the present invention is used. The method of manufacturing the woven fabric is a method of expanding the yarn width while rolling the cylindrical body from above the woven fabric in a pressurized state.

By the way, the manufacturing method of the present invention is a method in which the cylindrical body 4 is reciprocated in the direction of the warp yarn 2 to widen the width. Therefore, for the warp yarn 2, the cross section of the yarn bundle where the filaments are gathered is continuous in the yarn axis direction. The width of the weft yarn 3 can be effectively widened because the yarn is expanded sequentially, but the weft yarn 3 is only crushed instantaneously in the cross section of the yarn bundle, so the effect of expanding the width is smaller than that of the warp yarn.

Therefore, in order to improve this problem, weft yarn 3 was spread by air jet injection beforehand, and then expanded by a cylindrical body. The method of widening the warp width is more preferable because the cylindrical body can be smoothly rolled and the warp and weft yarn widths can be reliably widened. Such a spreader and spreader using an air jet uses, for example, a nozzle on a loom in which air injection holes having a diameter of 0.2 to 0.5 mm are arranged at a pitch of several mm in parallel with the weft direction of a woven fabric. It is installed to face the fabric surface. When the fabric passes while injecting air, the weft yarn is opened and the yarn Φ; At this time, since the take-up tension is applied to the warp yarn 2, it is difficult to increase the warp yarn width by the air jet. In this way, if the weft yarn 3 is expanded in advance, the cylindrical body 4 can spread the warp yarn having a narrow yarn width while rotating smoothly. At the same time, it is possible to expand the part where the expansion is slightly insufficient due to the air opening.

When the method for producing a reinforcing fiber woven fabric of the present invention is used for a method for producing a carbon fiber flat yarn woven fabric, the woven structure is not particularly limited, and may be a flat structure, a twill structure, or a satin structure. However, a plain weave in which one warp yarn and one weft yarn are alternately interlaced is preferable because misalignment is less likely when the cylindrical body is reciprocated.

In the production method of the present invention, the low-melting resin fibers are inserted in the warp or weft direction, and after forming a woven fabric, the reinforcing fibers are fixed to each other by heating to a temperature higher than the softening point or the melting point of the low-melting resin fibers. When manufacturing the staple woven fabric, the cylindrical body is rolled on the woven fabric into which the low-melting-point resin fiber has been inserted while reciprocating in the warp direction of the woven fabric while rolling the woven fabric under pressure. By heating the yarn after it has been widened, the woven yarn is fixed in a widened state, so that the fabric structure does not change during subsequent handling. Thus, a molded woven fabric base material can be provided.

As one embodiment of the method for introducing the low-melting-point resin fiber, in the case of a bidirectional woven fabric, it is aligned with the warp and / or weft of carbon fiber during weaving. In the case of unidirectional woven fabrics in which weft yarns of fineness are used as weft yarns for carbon fiber warp, low-melting resin fibers may be drawn together with the yarn yarns, and auxiliary yarns may be used. By using a coated yarn in the form of a core Z and a sheath made of a low melting point resin fiber, reliable insertion can be performed.

The core yarn of the core / sheath coated yarn is a fiber yarn that hardly undergoes thermal shrinkage at the heating temperature at which the low melting point resin is melted by heat, and shrinks at 150 ° C dry heat. The ratio is preferably 1% or less, and fineness yarn made of glass fiber, aramide fiber yarn, and vinylon fiber is preferable.

Examples of the low melting point resin include copolymerized polyester resin having a melting point of 90 to 180 ° C.

In addition, in the production method of the present invention, a powdery or fibrous resin is applied and adhered to one or both surfaces of the woven fabric to stabilize the morphology of the woven fabric, or to provide an adhesive function between the laminated products or to strengthen the interlayer between the molded products. In the same manner as described above, it is possible to provide a composite base material in which reinforcing fibers are uniformly dispersed by applying and attaching a powdery or fibrous resin after the weaving yarn widening step. it can.

The resin to be applied and adhered is a thermosetting resin or a thermoplastic resin.The thermosetting resin is epoxy, phenol, unsaturated polyester, butyl ester, etc., which contains a curing agent or a catalyst. Is also included. Examples of the thermoplastic resin include polyesters, polyamides, polyurethanes, polyether sulfones, and the like, copolymers and modified products thereof, and mixtures of two or more kinds. The amount of powder or fibrous resin adhered at this time is preferably 2 to 20% by weight, although it depends on the purpose. From the viewpoint of the morphological stability of the woven fabric, it is preferable that the resin adhesion amount is large. However, if the resin adhesion amount exceeds 20% by weight, the entire surface of the woven fabric will be covered with the resin. Impregnation, it takes a long time to impregnate, There is a problem to be formed.

On the other hand, if the resin adhesion amount is less than 2% by weight, the powder or fibrous resin cannot be uniformly dispersed on the fabric surface, and there are portions where the reinforcing fibers do not adhere to each other. Since the retention property is insufficient, the optimum amount of adhesion is within the above range.

As a method of applying or adhering to the woven fabric 1, in the case of a powder, in the case of a powder, the powder resin is uniformly applied on the woven fabric in which the yarn width of the yarn is widened, and then applied to the woven fabric surface by heating. be able to. It is also possible to adhere by passing through a heating roller. In the case of a fibrous form, it can be formed into a nonwoven fabric and attached to the woven fabric by heat fusion or needling.

Non-woven fabrics are melt blown, spun pounds, and the like. In the case of heat fusion, it is possible to adhere at a relatively low temperature by mixing 10 to 40% by weight of a low melting point resin. As described above, by adhering a powdery or fibrous resin to the surface of the woven fabric, the entire surface of the woven fabric is not covered with the resin, so the flow path of the matrix resin is secured and the resin is impregnated. The problem that hinders does not occur.

Next, a fabric manufacturing apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 to 5. FIG.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a preferred arrangement example of the cylindrical body 4 shown in FIG. 1, and the fabric 1 is moved along the surface of the rotatable guide roller 5 in the direction C in FIG. By reciprocating the cylindrical body 4 at a constant amplitude in the warp direction on the woven fabric 1 which is in surface contact with 5, the yarn width of the individual yarns constituting the woven fabric is continuously increased. Although not shown, the cylindrical body 4 is rotatably supported on both ends of one shaft by appropriate bearings, and is supported in the center portion of the shaft to reciprocate in the warp direction. round trip It can be moved, and the pressure applied to the fabric 1 can be appropriately adjusted by the pressurizing means.

The guide roller 5 is a cylindrical rotary roller having a diameter of about 100 to 50 O mm and a smooth surface, and rotates in a negative direction according to the movement of the fabric by frictional force by contacting the surface of the guide roller 5. .

As described above, since the woven fabric 1 is arranged along the outer peripheral curved surface of the guide roller 5 at an appropriate winding angle, the pulling force of the woven fabric 1 in the warp direction acts on the center axis direction of the guide roller 5. As a result, a high frictional force acts on the contact surface between the guide roller surface and the fabric 1, and even when the cylindrical body 4 (widening roller) is reciprocated from above, the weft of the fabric 1 is not displaced, and the weft yarn is not shifted. It can be widened.

The arrangement of the cylindrical body 4 may be a single one over the entire width of the fabric, but it is difficult to apply pressure uniformly over the entire width of the fabric with such a long cylindrical body. Therefore, although not shown in the present embodiment, the length of the cylindrical body is preferably in the range of 10 to 200 mm, and more preferably in the range of 10 to 5 Omm. In addition, two cylindrical bodies are attached to both ends of the shaft in a rotatable state by bearings, and each shaft supports the center part so that a load acts. Uniform pressure can be applied to the fabric with rollers. In the figure, two cylindrical bodies 4 are arranged in a two-cut row, and they are arranged as a set in two rows before and after.In this method, however, two cylindrical bodies 4 are arranged between the two cylindrical bodies. It is necessary to provide a support for supporting the shaft, and there is a gap between the two cylindrical bodies that does not involve the pressing of the rollers. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 4, it is a preferable embodiment that two cylindrical bodies 4 are arranged in a staggered manner in the traveling direction of the woven fabric so that the yarn can be uniformly spread over the entire width of the woven fabric. .

At this time, the moving speed of the fabric 1 in the B direction, that is, the weaving speed of the fabric, is Since the reciprocating speed of the cylindrical body 4 is mechanically limited, the speed is preferably as low as possible, but the range of 0.2 to 2.0 m / min is preferable in order not to affect the manufacturing cost. . In particular, when the yarn width expanding device as shown in FIG. 3 is provided while weaving between the weaving loom and the take-up roll of the woven fabric, the widening device is installed in a separate process in the same loom. This is a preferred embodiment because it can be provided without any modification. When widening is performed on a loom in this way, another winding device is provided at the rear of the loom as a winding device for the fabric, and the above-described winding device is used to extend the winding roll. A guide roller 5 is provided, on which the yarn width can be increased.

FIG. 5 is a partial side view of a device for reciprocating a pair of front and rear two-width widening rollers 4 in the warp direction while applying an appropriate pressing force to the surface of the fabric 1 on the guide rollers 5. The cylindrical body 4 is fixed at the center of the shaft to which the cylindrical body is attached to a U-shaped support arm 6, and one support arm 6 has a 4-unit cylindrical body 4 attached thereto. I have. Each support arm 6 is connected to a pressing member 8, and the pressing member 8 is reciprocated by a reciprocating drive connecting rod 7 around a rotation axis 0. The driving member 8 is capable of oscillating in a concentric manner in parallel with the arc of the guide roller 5 by a guide 9 (not shown), and a compression panel is provided between the support arm 6 and the pressing member 8. The compression spring 10 presses the roller 5 in the direction of the roller 5 so that the cylindrical body 4 applies pressure to the fabric 1 surface. It is preferable that the diameter of the cylindrical body 4 is as small as possible because a high linear pressure can be applied with the same pressing load, but the minimum diameter is determined from the bearing size in order to incorporate the bearing for smooth rotation. The diameter of the cylindrical body is 12 to 60 mm, more preferably 12 to 20 mm.

The smaller the diameter of the cylindrical body 4 is, the smaller the pressure is. However, if the diameter is less than 12 mm, there is a problem that the bearing becomes small and cannot withstand a high pressing pressure. Therefore, the diameter needs to be 12 mm or more.

The length of the cylindrical body 4 is preferably large from the viewpoint of manufacturing, but is preferably 200 mm or less in order to distribute a uniform load in the length direction of the cylindrical body. It is more preferably O mm or less. The surface of the cylindrical body is preferably smooth to avoid damaging the carbon fiber, and the end is preferably chamfered. In particular, the surface of the carbon fiber may be rubber-coated because the fiber has a high elastic modulus and the fiber is brittle and the fiber is easily damaged.

Next, the reinforcing fiber fabric 1 used in the production method of the present invention will be described.

The woven fabric 1 is a woven fabric in which the reinforcing fiber yarns are the warp yarns 2 and the weft yarns 3, and the size of the reinforcing fiber yarns is 400 to 4,000 TEX, which is thick, non-twisted, and arranged at a large pitch. Things. The fineness of the reinforcing fiber yarn and the weft pitch have the following relationship, the opening ratio at the intersection of the warp and weft of the woven fabric is 0.3 or less, and the size of one opening is 1 mm ² or less.

P = k .T ^1/2

Where P: Yarn pitch (mm)

T: Fineness of reinforcing fiber (T E X)

k: (1 8~5 0) X 1 0- 2

Further, it is preferable that the reinforcing fiber is a carbon fiber, since a fiber-reinforced plastic having a high specific strength and a specific elastic modulus can be obtained.

As explained in the prior art, the fineness of the carbon fiber is 400 to 4000 TEX, thick carbon fiber yarn, and the fineness of the conventional carbon fiber is less than 200 TEX. There was a basis weight that is to 8 0 to 3 0 0 g / low basis weight carbon fiber fabric of m ^2, the productivity of the woven material is 2 to become 2 0 fold, also thick carbon fibers are inexpensive manufacturing cost Thus, a low-cost carbon fiber fabric can be provided.

In addition, since the carbon fiber is a thick carbon fiber and the cross section of the yarn is flat and intersects with each other, a carbon fiber reinforced plastic having a small crimp of the yarn and exhibiting high mechanical properties is expected.

However, it is difficult to weave while keeping the flatness of the thick carbon fiber flat yarn to make a woven fabric in which the carbon fibers are uniformly dispersed without any gaps between the yarns. At present, it is a finished woven fabric. Such a woven fabric can be made to have almost no opening at the intersection of the warp and weft yarns by the above-described yarn width widening method, and a reinforcing woven fabric exhibiting excellent mechanical properties can be obtained. . Here, the measurement of the aperture ratio is performed by sampling a warp yarn 2 and a weft yarn 3 from at least 10 different places of a 1-m long woven fabric so that at least 10 or more warp yarns and weft yarns 3 enter the warp yarn and the warp yarn from each sample. The interval and width of 10 weft yarns can be measured with a vernier caliper to 0.1 mm, and the average value of each can be obtained by the following formula (1). Aperture ratio (% )

(Warp interval-warp width) X (Weft interval-weft width)

X 1 0 0 Warp spacing X Weft spacing

(1) The opening area is the value of the numerator in the above equation. The yarn spacing should be The distance between the center lines of the woven yarns to be determined is the distance from the end in the yarn width direction to the end of the adjacent yarn in obtaining the opening ratio and opening area of the present invention.

The opening ratio of the woven fabric of the present invention is 0.3% or less, and the area of one opening is 1 mm ² or less.

When such a woven fabric is impregnated with a resin and molded into a carbon fiber plastic, there is almost no opening, so a molded product without a resin rich portion can be obtained, exhibiting high mechanical properties and excellent It has the characteristic of obtaining a high surface quality. If a resin rich portion exists in carbon fiber reinforced plastic, the resin rich portion becomes the starting point of destruction when a stress is applied and breaks with a low load. There is a problem that a dent is formed in the finger. In addition, a woven fabric with a flat weave and a large opening at the intersection of warp and weft is impregnated by impregnating it with a resin diluted with a solvent. In the drying process, if the surface tension of the resin acts on the opening, only the resin film can be contained in the opening, so the flat carbon fiber yarns on both sides of the opening converge round. However, there is a problem in that the pre-predator has a large opening. Therefore, if the area of the opening is 1 mm ² or less, may include a tree fat enough in the opening, the opening since surface tension acts even resin present in the opening during the drying of the solvent It doesn't grow.

Examples and comparative examples

Hereinafter, examples of the present invention and comparative examples will be described.

Example 1

In Fig. 1, a carbon fiber flat yarn having a filament count of 12,000, a tensile strength of 480 MPa, a tensile modulus of 230 GPa, and a yarn width of 6 mm was used. A warp yarn 2 and a weft yarn 3 are used, and a flat-textured flat yarn woven fabric 1 having a density of 8.3 mm for the warp yarn and the weft yarn is 8.3 mm, respectively. Weaved at 80 RPM.

Next, until the winding step, the weft yarn 3 is spread and widened by air jetting at a supply air pressure of 0.5 Pa, and then the weft yarn 3 is processed by the cylindrical body 4 described in FIG. Widening processing was performed by the widening method. The widening processing conditions are as follows: the pressing force applied to the widening roller 4 is approximately 200 g per 1 cm length of one widening roller, and the amplitude (direction B in the figure) is 50 mm in four rows of widening rollers. Then, the vibration was performed twice at Z seconds.

The size of the cylindrical body 4 was 12 mm in diameter and 15 mm in length. Table 1 shows the evaluation results of the woven fabric before and after the air treatment and the woven fabric obtained by widening the yarn width of the woven fabric by the cylindrical body widening method of the present invention.

As a result, the weft yarn width is greatly widened by the agitating process, but the warp yarn width is slightly narrowed by the agitating process, and the warp yarn width is greatly widened in the A direction by the yarn width widening method by the widening roller process. A very uniform fabric was obtained in which the widths of both the warp and weft yarns were widened, and where there was no gap at the intersection of the warp and weft yarns.

Comparative Examples 1 and 2

On the other hand, a woven fabric which was woven by the same method as in Example 1 but did not use the manufacturing method of the present invention in the spreading and widening process by air jetting and the widening process by the cylindrical body 4 was used. The woven fabric obtained by subjecting the woven fabric to the weft opening process only by air jet (a woven fabric not using the manufacturing method of the present invention in the process of widening by the cylindrical body 4) is shown in the following table as Comparative Example 2. Was.

As a result, the yarn width of the woven fabric of Comparative Example 1 was slightly wider than that of the carbon fiber flat yarn used, but the width of the warp yarn and the weft yarn crossed each other because it was narrower than the weft yarn interval. There was a gap in the fabric, the opening ratio was 3.3%, and the maximum opening area was 4.5 mm ² .

In the woven fabric of Comparative Example 2, the weft yarn was widened by an air jet and the weft yarn width was increased. Although the width of the warp was narrow, the width of the warp was narrow, so that the cross section of the warp and the weft was smaller than the fabric of Comparative Example 1, but the opening ratio was 0.4%. Further, although the opening ratio of the woven fabric of Comparative Example 2 was small, the warp yarn portion became convex with respect to the woven fabric surface due to the narrow warp yarn width, and the woven fabric had an uneven surface.

Table 1 below summarizes the above examples and comparative examples. table 1

Industrial applicability

The invention according to the present invention is a manufacturing method and a manufacturing apparatus for reciprocating a woven fabric made of reinforcing fibers in a warp direction while rolling the woven fabric made of a reinforcing fiber against the woven fabric in a pressurized state. It can be spread in the width direction of the fabric. Therefore, a fiber-reinforced plastic product in which reinforcing fibers are uniformly dispersed can be obtained as a reinforcing base material of a final product.

In particular, the widening method used in the method for producing a reinforcing fiber woven fabric of the present invention is a method for producing a reinforcing fiber woven fabric, which is a woven fabric which is easily misaligned, such as a carbon fiber flat yarn woven fabric. Since the width of the yarn is increased by reciprocating the yarn while rolling in the warp direction, the yarn width can be surely increased without disturbing the arrangement of the yarn as in the prior art. Therefore, a woven fabric having no gap between the yarns can be obtained. Further, since the manufacturing method and apparatus of the present invention is a very simple method, it is possible to continuously perform a yarn width widening process on a loom. '

Thus, the production method and the production apparatus of the present invention can be widely used in fields such as aircraft members and general industrial applications.

Claims

The scope of the claims

1. A method of manufacturing a reinforced woven fabric in which reinforcing fibers are woven at least as warp yarns, wherein the cylindrical body is reciprocated in the warp yarn direction while rolling the cylindrical body on the woven fabric in a pressurized state with respect to the woven fabric. A method for producing a reinforced fiber woven fabric, comprising increasing the width of at least the warp yarn constituting the woven fabric in the weft direction.

2. The pressure applied to the fabric of the cylindrical body is in the range of 100 to 200 g per 1 cm of the axial length of the cylindrical body. Of producing a reinforcing fiber woven fabric.

3. The method for producing a reinforcing fiber woven fabric according to claim 2, wherein a widening ratio for widening the warp yarn width in the weft direction is in a range of 2 to 50%.

4. In the woven fabric, thick non-twisted reinforcing fiber yarns having a fineness in the range of 400 to 4000 TEX are arranged at a woven yarn pitch in the range of 5 to 32 mm. 2. The method for producing a reinforcing fiber woven fabric according to claim 1, wherein the woven fabric has the following relationship between the fineness of the reinforcing fiber yarn and the yarn pitch.

P = kT ^1/2

However, P: Yarn pitch (mm)

T: Fineness of captive fiber (T E X)

k: (18 to 50) X 10 ¹²

5. The woven fabric has a thick untwisted fineness ranging from 400 to 4000 TEX. This is a unidirectional woven fabric in which the reinforcing fiber yarns are arranged in the warp direction with a weave pitch in the range of 4 to 16 mm, and are integrated with the weft yarn of a thin auxiliary yarn with a fineness of 1 to 30 TEX. 2. The method for producing a reinforcing fiber woven fabric according to claim 1, wherein the woven fabric has the following relationship between the fineness of the reinforcing fiber yarn and the woven yarn pitch.

P = kT ^1/2

However, P: weft (warp) pitch (mm)

T: Fineness of captive fiber (T E X)

k: (10 to 28) X 10 ¹²

6. The method for producing a reinforcing fiber woven fabric according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the reinforcing fibers are carbon fibers.

7. The method for producing a reinforcing fiber woven fabric according to claim 6, wherein the number of filaments of the carbon fiber is in the range of 6,000 to 500,000.

8. The reinforcement according to any one of claims 1 to 5 and 7, wherein a plurality of the cylindrical bodies are arranged in a staggered manner in the warp direction to widen the yarn width of the woven fabric. Manufacturing method of fiber woven fabric.

9. The fabric is moved in the warp direction along the surface of a rotatable guide roller, and the yarn width is continuously increased on the fabric in surface contact with the guide roller. 8. The method for producing a reinforcing fiber woven fabric according to any one of Items 1 to 5 and 7.

10. The production of a strengthened fiber woven fabric according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the yarn width is widened between a weaving machine loom and a take-up roll of the woven fabric. Method.

11. The reinforcing fiber woven fabric according to any one of claims 1 to 5 and 7, wherein an average speed of reciprocating the cylindrical body is in a range of 50 to 300 mm Z seconds. Manufacturing method.

1 2. The woven fabric is a flat-yarn woven fabric with a flat structure in which the warp and the weft are made of carbon fiber yarn, and the weft is opened and expanded by jetting air through injection holes arranged in the weft direction of the woven fabric. A method for producing a reinforcing fiber woven fabric, wherein the yarn width is increased in the weft direction by the method according to any one of claims 1 to 5 and 7.

13. Weaving process for weaving a woven fabric while introducing low-melting resin fibers in the warp or weft direction, and widening the yarn width by the manufacturing method described in any one of claims 1 to 5 and 7. And heating the woven fabric to a temperature equal to or higher than the softening point or melting point of the low-melting resin fiber, and fixing the reinforcing fibers to each other or the reinforcing fiber and the auxiliary yarn with the low-melting resin. Manufacturing method of reinforced fiber fabric.

14. The method for producing a reinforcing fiber woven fabric according to any one of claims 1 to 5 and 7 (the method includes a widening step). Or a step of coating and adhering a powdery or fibrous resin on both surfaces, wherein the amount of the adhering resin is 2 to 2 A method for producing a reinforcing fiber woven fabric, which is in a range of 0% by weight.

1 5. A guide roller that rotates while being in surface contact with a continuously passing reinforcing fabric at a predetermined winding angle, and a plurality of cylindrical bodies rotatably supported on the fabric in contact with the surface. An apparatus for producing a reinforcing fiber woven fabric, comprising: a drive unit for reciprocating a cylindrical body in a warp direction of the woven fabric.

1 6. The cylindrical body has a diameter in a range of 10 to 40 mm and a length in a range of 10 to 50 mm, and the cylindrical body is formed of the fabric. 16. The apparatus for producing a reinforcing fiber woven fabric according to claim 15, wherein the reinforcing fiber woven fabric is arranged in a staggered manner in the yarn direction.